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In November 2024, Project Managers Mike Mathiesen and Irene Armstrong participated in the Santa Barbara Training Exchange (TREX), a hands-on event designed to enhance fire management skills and promote cooperative burning practices.
Prescribed Fire Training Exchanges (TREX) and cooperative burns offer invaluable experiential training that strengthens local fire management capacity and provides fire practitioners with a broader perspective. The primary focus of TREX is to foster effective cooperative burning, helping diverse partners maximize their skills, resources, and staff to expand outreach, treatment, and training opportunities. The Santa Barbara TREX aimed to build capacity for community-based burning by promoting the ecological health of Santa Barbara's varied landscapes, while meeting key objectives in cultural preservation, conservation, training, and wildfire mitigation.
The 2024 TREX firelighters participated in 10 days of training in the stunning wildlands of Santa Barbara County, working alongside professional fire practitioners, tribal partners, ranchers, land managers, and local community members to achieve diverse objectives through the use of beneficial fire. Firelighters of all experience levels honed their skills, engaging in tasks ranging from firing and holding operations to unit preparation, mop-up, and leadership training assignments.
The event took place at Sedgwick Reserve and the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve. Sedgwick Reserve is a renowned research, conservation, and education facility located in the Santa Ynez Valley, managed by the University of California Santa Barbara Natural Reserve System. The Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve, a nature reserve in Santa Barbara County, is managed by The Nature Conservancy and supports a wide range of wildlife species across two major terrestrial and two major marine biomes.
View additional information in the event flier.
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